2

Framework: Thinking About Texts

Introduction

Reading other people’s writing is always an effective way to get a better handle on a type of writing or even a particular writing assignment. In later modules we will provide you with various sample essays, some by professional writers, some by students, to help you grapple with each module as a whole and to help prepare for your own writing.

For this module, let’s take a look at an essay by Elisa Ip, a student in her second year at the University of British Columbia in Canada. In this piece, Elisa does a fantastic job of using description at the beginning of the essay to hook the reader. Note how she uses a sometimes surprising selection of energized language to convey her experience of seeing something dart across her field of vision on a sunny day.

Select and read this article, “A Wolf in the City” by Elisa Ip.

Final Thoughts

As well as beginning the essay with some excellent descriptive moments, Elisa also makes a fantastic case for the power of writing and its ability to make the world around us come to life. Elisa’s symbiotic technology has infused her with the power to overcome what could have been a severe disadvantage (her “visual impairment”) and turn it into a gift, for through her “loss” she has come to describe the world differently. Her writing is now her augmented vision, and through it she can construct fantastic sensory experiences that she can invite others to share with her.

We hope this course can help provide you with the same kind of creative power and the confidence to share your words. Writing with confidence truly does present a key to a whole new world. With patience and practice, you’ll be exploring that world in no time.

Attribution

“A Wolf in the City”  by Elisa Ip, Queen City Writers  is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0  .